


when i cry, it never laughs.

by Idnis



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Angst, M/M, Magic Mirrors, Mirrors, and it's run by a cute boy so andrew def returns, i mean it's andreil of course there's angst, the little shop that wasn't there yesterday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 08:43:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12744903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idnis/pseuds/Idnis
Summary: A shop full of mirrorsthat shouldn't be there the next day.Andrew shouldn't be able to find it again.But he keeps returning, and Neil has no clue how.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [this_strangebewilderment](https://archiveofourown.org/users/this_strangebewilderment/gifts).



> Helloooo lovely people!
> 
> After the lovely prompt given to me by this_strangebewilderment, I had a lot of intense brainstorm sessions before finally coming up with this idea. As per usual, I wrote way too much (my goal was to write a short story) so I'm splitting it into two parts.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!  
> (and that this fulfills your prompt! <3)

 

_"The mirror is my best friend,  
because  
when I cry  
it never laughs."  
  
_

* * *

 

  
It was another one of those nights,  
though they could also be described as his days  
seeing as he was more often than not  
awake.

Andrew took another drag of his cigarette and decided to let the drifting smoke plan his next step.  
  
It led him to a dingy and dark alley  
where it became hard to see the smoke in the air,  
but its guidance wasn’t necessary anymore.  
  
Andrew saw the faint twinkling of lights  
in one of the store’s windows.  
  
A shop that was still open at 2 am?

Dropping his cigarette on the ground, Andrew observed the building.

The name of the shop,  
_The Expensive Window  
_ sounded as unusual as it was unknown.

Andrew pushed the door open.  
  
What more could he lose  
besides his life?  
  
◐  
  
Neil jolted awake as the tiny bell hanging by the door jingled, alerting him to a customer.  
  
He looked at the clocks behind his counter,  
and saw the one to the left lighting up,  
telling him it was somewhat past 2 am.  
  
That was late.  
  
◑  
  
There were mirrors  
everywhere.  
  
Looking up,  
Andrew could see himself walking through the shop,  
because even on the ceiling  
dozens of mirrors were displayed.  
  
Were they even on display  
or was this entire shop made of mirrors?  
  
Andrew felt like he was high.  
  
Suddenly, behind him,  
someone cleared his throat.  
  
Andrew whirled around and stood face to face  
with himself.  
  
His eyes looked flat,  
and the dark circles underneath them complemented their colour.  
  
In the mirror, Andrew could see a guy about his age leaning against one of the mirrors behind him.  
  
Andrew turned around, his eyes immediately taking in auburn hair  
and shockingly blue eyes.  
  
‘Hello,’ the guy said, before Andrew could. Not that he would’ve started with hello. ‘Can I help you with anything?’

Tempting,  
Andrew thought for a minuscule second as his eyes locked with the guy’s.  
  
But,  
‘No.’

‘Ah,’ the guy said. ‘I’ll let you look around.’  
  
‘No. I’m going,’ Andrew said, though he could’ve simply walked away.  
  
But there was something about the silence in the shop that made him want to  
break  
it.

‘Not interested in mirrors?’  
  
‘No,’ Andrew answered.  
  
The guy nodded, crossing his arms over his chest in a rather  
protective  
manner.

Why the fuck was Andrew still standing here?

‘Not a lot of people are.’  
  
He was having a fucking conversation about  
mirrors.  
Right.

‘Should probably change your shop name too,’ Andrew said. ‘It’s misleading.’

The guy’s eyebrows rose in surprise. ‘Why? You have no idea how expensive my mirrors are.’

‘It’s called the expensive _window_ .’  
  
‘So? Mirrors could be windows.’

Andrew stared at the guy. ‘Don’t pull this poetic bullshit on me.’  
  
To both of their surprise,  
the guy laughed.  
  
Then looked slightly affronted by himself.  
Andrew could relate.  
  
‘I thought shop names were supposed to be mysterious.’  
  
‘Why the fuck would you lie about what you’re selling?’

The guy shrugged,  
and pushed himself off the mirror he was leaning against, and disappeared behind another.  
  
Everything about this situation was  
unusual  
and so Andrew followed him.  
  
‘It’s what I do,’ the guy said, when he looked over his shoulder and saw Andrew following him.  
  
‘Lying?’

‘Yeah.’

The guy was leading them through a maze of mirrors  
and maybe a normal person would start to worry about finding his way back.  
Andrew didn’t worry.  
He was lost either way.  
  
He stopped in front of a bashed up, dark wooden counter and sat on it,  
his shockingly blue eyes observing Andrew curiously.  
  
‘Sure you don’t want to buy anything?’

Andrew didn’t need a mirror.

But he was  
fuck  
interested  
and so he asked,  
‘Tell me how expensive you are.’

Fuck he even sounded interested.  
Not so much in the mirrors though.

But the guy either chose to ignore his suggestiveness or didn’t pick up on it,  
because he said,  
‘Pick a mirror and I’ll tell you.’  
  
Andrew walked towards one he could carry with him if he needed to.  
  
It was a simple, square-ish mirror in a black frame.  
  
‘That one? Okay. It’ll only cost you one lie.’

Andrew’s eyes met the guy’s in the mirror.  
  
‘I don’t lie,’ he said.  
  
‘What?’  
  
Andrew didn’t like to repeat himself,  
so he merely turned around,  
putting his hands into his pockets.  
  
‘That’s your price? A lie?’  
  
‘Well, not exactly,’ the guy said, looking at Andrew like he thought Andrew was very strange. The feeling was mutual. ‘It’s not an incredibly special mirror, so it would cost you only one bold-faced lie.’  
  
The fuck.

Everything about this situation was weird.  
  
For one second,  
Andrew was sure he was dreaming.  
  
But the knives against his skin felt real.

‘I think you’re perfectly normal,’ Andrew said sarcastically.  
  
Again,  
the guy seemed to startle at his own laugh.  
  
Andrew wondered if he didn’t laugh a lot.  
  
Again,  
he could relate.  
  
‘That’ll do,’ the guy said, waving towards the mirror. ‘Take it.’

Andrew narrowed his eyes at him. ‘That’s all it takes?’

‘For that mirror, yes.’

The guy leaned over the counter,  
which Andrew could see him do from a lot of different angles  
and he liked all of them,  
and produced a thick book, some sort of ledger probably.

The guy started whizzing through it until he found the right page.  
  
He plucked a pen from behind his left ear,  
and if Andrew had been a better man he might’ve been ashamed that he hadn’t noticed the pen  
while he had noticed  
other  
things.  
  
The sound of a pen scratching the paper was the only sound in the shop for a while.  
  
Andrew told himself to stop staring.

He picked up the mirror.  
  
‘Where’s the exit?’

‘Uh, over there,’ the guy pointed absent-mindedly, focused on writing.  
  
Andrew had taken approximately two steps before a sudden,  
‘Wait!’  
actually  
made him wait.  
  
It was just an unusual night,  
Andrew told himself.

‘I need to write down your name.’

Oh nice.  
An alibi.

‘Andrew Minyard.’  
  
Immediately, the guy jotted it down,  
and Andrew felt a sudden  
nudge  
because he would not call it a _need  
_ to surprise the guy again.

‘You?’ he asked.

There it was.

Blue eyes widened,  
eyebrows raised.

‘Neil,’ the guy said,  
then looked startled at having said something  
_then_ looked panicked at having said his name.  
  
‘So how does the truth feel?’ Andrew asked.  
  
The stare he got in return  
was a little too open  
for Andrew to feel comfortable.  
  
‘Terrible,’ Neil replied.  
  
A twitch,  
an almost smile.  
Fuck.  
  
Andrew turned to leave before things got even more  
unusual.  
  
Behind him, he heard Neil mutter, ‘Fuck. Good thing I’ll never see you again.’

 _What?_  
  
◑  
  
When Andrew woke up,  
he saw himself sitting up in bed.

His first thought was  
_Aaron?_  
His second thought was  
_fucking mirror._  
  
Past Andrew was a fucking troll for putting it at the end of his bed.  
  
‘That’s new,’ Nicky said, as he entered the bedroom with a towel around his hips. ‘Is this a new kink we should know about? Because you know, I thought people usually hung their mirror above their beds.’  
  
Usual.  
Yeah.

‘I bought it,’ Andrew said, getting out of bed.

‘Why?’ Aaron asked.  
  
Andrew froze in his movements  
and actually tried to come up with a plausible answer.  
He couldn’t.

‘To keep an eye on Nicky,’ he said instead, which made Nicky protest in indignation, but Andrew didn’t care about that.  
  
He cared about the way Aaron rolled his eyes.

‘You’re too paranoid,’ Nicky said, pulling a shirt over his head. ‘It’s bad for your heart, and your future. You’re not gonna get old if you’re so suspicious all the time.’  
  
‘There’s nothing in my future,’ Andrew dismissed Nicky,  
and as soon as the words left his lips,  
a vague tinkling noise sounded from his left.

Aaron left the room without another word,  
while Nicky ducked behind the closet door to change into his boxers and jeans,  
sighing and lecturing about this not being a healthy attitude,  
but Andrew’s attention was drawn to the sound,  
which sounded way too fucking close.  
  
A ripple  
like a drop in a still pool of water  
spread across the surface of the mirror.  
  
The fucking mirror.  
  
Andrew reached out  
tentatively  
and when his finger touched the surface  
the view of himself  
changed.  
  
It was a very blurry image  
but Andrew recognized the Tower’s rooftop immediately.

There were two figures on the rooftop  
two blurry figures  
though he could make out that one of them had blonde hair.

A tiny orange dot appeared in their hands,  
which was probably a cigarette, Andrew guessed.

And even though it was very hard to see,  
like he was watching through fogged up glass  
he still saw the blonde figure reaching out,  
grabbing the other and  
oh yeah, those were definitely faces mashing together,  
making out.

The fuck.  
  
The image rippled again  
and then Andrew was looking at his own face once more.

‘Andrew?’

Turning the mirror around,  
Andrew looked for a battery or some sort of device that could’ve played the video.  
  
But there wasn’t anything he could  
see.

Only one way to be sure.

Andrew smashed the mirror on the floor.  
  
‘What the fuck?’ Nicky shouted, jumping back as the mirror splintered into  
a thousand  
small silver fragments.  
  
Andrew immediately picked up the frame again,  
not caring about the scrapes and cuts on his hands as he gripped a few pieces of glass with it.  
  
There wasn’t anything  
different  
about the mirror.  
It was a normal wooden frame.

‘Are you okay?’ Nicky asked from the corner of the room, just as Aaron opened the bedroom door again.  
  
Andrew saw Aaron taking in the damage,  
saw him noting that no one was dead,  
and then closing the door again.

That’s as far as his interest went.  
Efficient.  
  
Andrew stared at the wooden frame in his hands,  
then at the shattered mirror on the floor.

‘What the fuck.’

‘Yeah, _exactly_ !’ Nicky exclaimed.  
  
◑

‘I’m losing it,’ Andrew told Bee.

She didn’t bat an eye at this. ‘I’m sure you’re not, but explain to me why you think so.’

‘I saw a blurry video. In a mirror. But there was no device in the mirror or the frame. Nothing. I smashed it to pieces to check.’

‘Well, that would’ve certainly broken any device,’ Bee said. ‘Which mirror did you break?’

‘A new one. One I bought yesterday.’

‘Oh, where?’

Bee looked genuinely interested.  
She always was.

‘The Expensive Window.’

Andrew felt ridiculous.

Bee’s easy, breezy demeanour changed all of a sudden,  
and she started tapping her chin, lost in thought.

Andrew waited patiently.

‘Wait,’ she said. ‘The Expensive Window?’

‘I know,’ Andrew said. ‘He sells mirrors.’

‘No, no, that’s not what I meant. Though if that’s the case, it  _is_ a rather mysterious name,’ Bee said, turning on her computer and tapping away on the keyboard.

Andrew resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  
  
The urge died quickly  
when he saw Bee’s eyes grow large.

‘Andrew,’ she said seriously, and he was instantly on edge. ‘Look at this.’

The headline didn’t leave anything to the imagination.

‘ _Shop burned down at night’_

Underneath the black words  
was a picture of The Expensive Window  
completely burned down.

What the ever loving fuck.

◑

After his appointment with Bee,  
Andrew immediately got into his car and drove to the street where he’d bought the unusual mirror.  
  
It was ridiculous  
after he’d so clearly seen that it had burned down,  
nothing left of the shop but a broken mirror on the ground.

Like his bedroom floor this morning.

Andrew walked towards the place where the shop  
should  
be  
and halted in his steps  
as he noticed that there was  
in fact  
a building  
with a sign that read

 _The Expensive Window._  
  
◐

The bell near the door tingled,  
alerting Neil to another customer.

He had no idea where he was right now,  
as he hadn’t looked outside the shop yet,  
but when an angry looking, blonde guy stalked to his counter  
Neil took a shocked step back.  
  
That was impossible.  
  
‘Andrew?’ he said,  
having remembered the guy’s name  
in spite of what he’d told himself he wouldn’t do.

Andrew’s brown eyes  
were shooting daggers at Neil.

‘Care to fucking explain, _Neil?_ ’  
  
Neil winced.  
  
He hadn’t meant to say his name.  
To tell the truth.

‘About?’ he asked, stalling, swallowing his nerves,  
because this was supposed to be impossible.  
He somehow managed to stare calmly back at Andrew.  
  
‘I don’t know,’ Andrew said. ‘Maybe why your shop isn’t burned down. Oh. How about the video in the mirror?’

‘Video?’

Irritation flickered across Andrew’s face. ‘Don’t play dumb with me. The fucking video in the mirror.’

‘There’s no video in the mirror,’ Neil said. ‘It’s a seeing mirror.’

Before he could duck,  
Andrew had grabbed him by his shirt and nearly pulled him over the counter.  
  
That was one strong grip.

‘Cut the bullshit, Neil,’ Andrew said in a low voice,  
causing Neil to  
shiver  
at the sound of his name.

It had been a long time since someone had said it.

‘There’s no bullshit,’ he said. ‘It’s a seeing mirror.’  
  
Then,  
the blade of a knife was pressed against his cheek  
and Neil didn’t need all the mirrors around him to know that it was  
pressing harshly into his skin,  
nor that Andrew was looking at him in irritation,  
and that Neil probably should explain a little more.

‘It’s a shitty quality mirror that shows you the past, present or future.’

Andrew’s stare was worse than  
when Neil would stare at himself in the mirror,  
than when he needed to see a reason  
for owning this shop.

‘So what did you see?’ Neil asked. ‘What did you tell the mirror to show you?’

He saw the moment it clicked.

‘I said future,’ Andrew said through gritted teeth, then.  ‘No. No, this is bullshit.’

‘Bullshit would be me telling you I’m comfortable right now,’ Neil deadpanned.  
  
For a second he was afraid he was going to lose an eye  
but then Andrew slid the knife back into his arm bands,  
from which Neil could only see the edge underneath his coat.  
  
‘The blur,’ Andrew said, seeming to get it.

‘Yeah, like I said, shitty quality.’

Andrew was staring unseeingly at the desk,  
lost in thought for a second.  
  
Neil saw the tension in Andrew’s shoulders,  
reflected from every angle.

Before he could stop himself,  
he asked,  
‘Not a nice future?’

Andrew’s gaze snapped back to him. ‘I broke the mirror.’

What?  
  
‘What?’ Neil repeated his thoughts.

Andrew shrugged. ‘I didn’t trust it.’

‘So you just, break things you don’t trust?’

There was something dark behind Andrew’s eyes as he replied,  
‘Exactly.’

Neil thought that was a little  
extreme.

‘You can get a new one if you want,’ he changed the topic.

‘What do you propose?’ Andrew asked, in a low voice again, but this time the tone was all different.  
  
It gave Neil shivers  
and let his mind drift to forbidden thoughts  
like telling truths  
sharing breaths  
and staying.  
  
‘How about this one?’ he said to distract himself, picking up a mirror at random.  
  
‘Sure.’

Andrew sounded a lot closer than before.  
  
Neil looked in the mirror to his left and saw that Andrew had, in fact, moved closer to him,  
his chest nearly touching Neil’s back.

Nearly.

His eyes met Andrew’s in the mirror  
and before heat could find its way to his cheeks,  
Neil dropped his gaze to the mirror he was holding.

Oh,  
that was an interesting one.  
  
‘It’s two deceptive lies.’

‘I don’t like to repeat myself.’  
  
‘And I can’t change the price for you,’ Neil said, fighting against the urge to look in the mirror to his left again.

There was a silence in the shop.

Neil hated the silence.  
  
Sometimes it was so much,  
that he’d rather break all the mirrors in his shop than listen to  
nothing  
for another moment.

Slowly,  
he raised his head  
and his eyes found Andrew’s again  
in the mirror.

‘I’m a sociopath,’ Andrew said emotionless. ‘And a monster.’

Neil swallowed.  
Turned around.

The closeness was  
intimate  
fragile  
scary  
and so Neil thrust the mirror in Andrew’s hands before he could _—  
  
_ ‘Here,’ he said.

Andrew tilted his head to the side. ‘Sure that counts as two?’

Neil nodded quickly.

He told himself it was the personal lie that made him feel uncomfortable,  
on edge.

‘You?’ Andrew asked,  
just like last time.

Neil wasn’t obligated to answer.

Because he definitely didn’t need another mirror.  
  
As everything inside him was freaking out,  
screaming,  
he replied,  
‘I’m fine.’

◑

Before Andrew went to bed  
he eyed the mirror skeptically.  
  
So far it had done nothing.

Maybe.  
Andrew touched the reflective surface  
and said,  
‘Future.’  
  
‘What?’ Kevin asked.

Nothing happened.

Andrew could still see himself.

‘Nothing,’ he observed, while simultaneously answering Kevin.

But his reflection didn’t mouth the same words,  
instead  
it said something different.  
  
Andrew frowned,  
staring hard at his reflection as he said  
‘Nothing.’  
again.

But this time  
nothing  
happened.  
  
‘Kevin. Ask me something.’

‘What?’

Andrew fought against the urge to throw a knife at Kevin’s head.

‘Something else.’

‘Okay, eh, is poverty an inevitable byproduct of human society?’

For a second  
there was literally nothing in Andrew’s mind besides  
_what the fuck_.

He turned towards Kevin. ‘Is that honestly the first thing that came to mind?’  
  
Kevin shrugged.  
  
Andrew grabbed his chest in mock shock. ‘Should I tell Exy, or will you?’  
  
Kevin shot him one of his pathetic excuses of a glare. ‘Well, you should’ve been more specific.’  
  
‘Ask me something I can answer with a lie.’

‘Isn’t that everything?’

Andrew faked a smile. ‘Thanks, dickhead. Now ask me.’  
  
‘You’re weird,’ Kevin shook his head. ‘Fine. Do you like playing Exy?’  
  
Andrew’s head immediately snapped towards the mirror.

‘Yes,’ he said.  
  
His reflection said  
the same.

‘Bullshit,’ Kevin called him out.

No, Andrew thought.  
This mirror was bullshit.  
  
His first guess about its purpose must’ve been wrong.

He was staring in thought at the mirror when Nicky walked in,  
then did a double take on Andrew.

‘Wait. That’s a new mirror. Please don’t smash this one on the ground.’

‘Ask me something, Nicky.’

‘Um, what are you thinking about right now?’

‘How I want to hug you,’ Andrew replied  
and watched as his reflection mouthed the words  
‘ _I want to know if this mirror shows the truth_.’  
  
It did.

‘Really?’ Nicky asked, sounding slightly touched. ‘Of course you can.’

He started walking towards Andrew  
who immediately held out his hand.

‘Don’t.’

‘But _—_ ’

‘He’s losing it,’ Kevin said by way of explanation.

Something inside Andrew squirmed.

Eyes fixed on the mirror,  
he watched his mouth form the words

‘I’m not losing it.’  
  
He wasn’t losing it.

◐  
  
There were a few mirrors in his shop that Neil told himself he wouldn’t use.

Though he would occasionally use the shitty quality seeing mirrors  
just to check if there was still a future for him  
he’d told himself he would never  
ever  
use the high quality seeing mirror.  
  
But it was one of those nights.

He’d only had two customers,  
and Neil was  
lonely.  
  
The silence of the shop was oppressing  
and his own reflection depressing.

So Neil walked the tiny, winding stairs  
up  
up  
up to the wonky, crooked attic where the extremely rare and high quality seeing mirror stood.

Propped against the wall,  
next to a large, round window.

Moving closer, Neil looked outside at the streets of London.

But then his gaze was drawn to the mirror again.

This was stupid,  
he told himself,  
as he pressed his palm almost reverently against the reflective surface  
and whispered,   
‘Present Andrew Minyard.’

Small cracks  
appeared  
on the smooth surface,  
which was unusual  
as normal seeing mirrors were like shallow ponds  
rippling  
while changing.  
  
In front of his eyes, the mirror seemed the shatter  
and then Neil was looking at  
Andrew  
sitting on the stands of an Exy court, smoking a cigarette.  
  
Exy.  
Once upon a time,  
he’d had that too.

Had actually had something he loved.

Neil wasn’t sure there would ever be anything again.

Just like he wasn’t sure that Andrew would ever return to the shop,  
because he shouldn’t.  
The magic of the shop should prevent it.

Neil pressed his hand against the mirror and  
wished  
he would.

He’d done it once after all.

Andrew threw his cigarette on the ground, crushing it beneath his shoe,  
then followed a dark haired guy out of the stadium.  
  
Neil felt jealous.

And even more lonely than before.

He looked away from the mirror,  
but ended up looking at his reflection in a tiny mirror on his right.

‘I’m fine,’ he whispered to himself.

◑

In all honesty,  
this was a terrible fucking idea.  
  
But that’s also what made it  
interesting  
Andrew reasoned, as he opened the door to _The Expensive Window_ .  
  
Walking through the maze of mirrors,  
Andrew found Neil sitting on top of his counter,  
cross-legged,  
scribbling something in his ledger.

‘Collect any good lies lately?’ he announced his presence.

Neil didn’t startle.  
Hard to do  
probably  
with all these mirrors.

Oh and the fucking door bell,  
Andrew thought belatedly.

Neil didn’t look up as he replied, ‘Not really. The usual. People agreeing with someone while they secretly hate it, people exaggerating about their skills, gossiping… Oh. And don’t forget ‘I love you’.’

Andrew tilted his head to the side,  
observing the way  
Neil bit his lip while he thought about something before writing it down.

Fucking cute.  
Fuck.

‘I love you?’ Andrew asked.

Neil’s head shot up in surprise  
like nobody had ever said those words to him.  
And Andrew realized  
that he’d never said those words to someone.

‘Yeah,’ Neil said warily. ‘One of the most common lies.’

Andrew laughed without humour. ‘And why’s that?’

He knew the answer.  
But Neil believed his question.

‘To get laid probably.’

Andrew hummed,  
liking the sound of Neil talking about fucking  
before aggressively shoving his interest down and w alking towards one of the mirrors at random.  
  
Andrew traced its edges with his finger.  
It didn’t have a frame.

‘A mirror that tells the truth,’ he said slowly.

‘Shows,’ Neil corrected him.

In the reflection, Andrew saw Neil watching him curiously.  
Cautiously.

‘Do you never tell people what the mirror does?’

‘Actually, I usually do.’

‘Thanks for the special treatment.’

‘You’re also the first person to buy two mirrors,’ Neil added, then stopped himself from talking.  
From probably telling more than he wanted to.

‘Have I got a huge surprise for you,’ Andrew said flatly. ‘I’m about to buy a third.’

‘Why?’ Neil sounded surprised.

Andrew dragged his finger harshly down the clean cut edges.

The skin of his fingertips broke  
and blood started dripping down the mirror’s crystal clear surface.

‘Maybe I’m interested.’

‘In mirrors?’

Andrew hummed lowly,  
catching Neil’s gaze in the reflection.

It was skeptic  
and how the fuck was this guy not getting _vibes_.

Andrew smiled  
the only lie he showed the world.

‘No.’

◐

Andrew’s smile made Neil nervous.  
More nervous than the answer.  
  
Neil didn’t have anything else to offer aside from mirrors,  
and besides, it wasn’t _his_ problem what Andrew wanted.  
  
He looked at the streaks of blood gliding down the smooth surface of the mirror.

‘You’re lucky that’s not an entrapment mirror.’

Andrew turned towards him again. ‘What are you writing?’

Neil unconsciously gripped the book tighter, angling it towards himself.

‘What are you interested in?’ he shot back.

‘There are many mirrors here, Neil. Figure it out.’

But Neil had no idea.  
Aside from the mirrors,  
there was only him and his ledger.

He watched Andrew move around the shop.

The secret of having watched Andrew through the seeing mirror made him feel slightly sheepish,  
but it was drowned out by the satisfaction of not being alone in the shop.  
If only for a little while.

‘What are you looking for?’ he asked.

A flash of blonde in the mirror to his left,  
and Neil saw Andrew’s reflection stopping in front of a selection of pocket mirrors.

Neil’s heart started beating faster.  
  
He hoped Andrew picked one of those.

‘Feeling,’ Andrew replied flatly.

For a second  
Andrew’s answer was a reflection  
a mirror  
to Neil’s own.

But Neil quickly pushed the hollow feeling away,  
opening his mouth to reply that he didn’t sell those  
but what came out was,  
‘I don’t know the price of that.’

Andrew turned away from the pocket mirrors and walked towards a selection of larger, framed ones.

‘I can think of a few,’ Andrew said detachedly.  
  
Neil wondered what had happened   
what had happened  
to make Andrew like this.

No.  
No way was he going to get investe _—_

‘Pick one for me,’ Andrew said,  
and Neil’s body definitely wasn’t listening to his mind  
as he immediately jumped off the counter and walked towards the pocket mirrors.

He handed one to Andrew,  
whose brown eyes observed Neil for a few seconds  
before looking down at the pocket mirror in his hand.

‘What does it do?’

Neil shrugged, trying not to show how much he wanted Andrew to pick this mirror.

‘Why break tradition?’ he said casually.

‘Tradition is an excuse to act without thinking,’ Andrew replied. Then took the mirror from Neil. ‘How much?’

‘Denial.’  
  
‘Must not be an important mirror,’ Andrew said. ‘Everyone lies to themselves.’

‘But they don’t admit it out loud.’

There was something heavy  
about the way Andrew lifted his head  
about the way his eyes looked into Neil’s.  
  
Like he was lifting an incredible weight.

It was there in his eyes  
when he said it.

And then  
it disappeared again,  
behind a wall,  
a smile,  
a knife.

‘I can do this alone.’

◑

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you know I wrote mirror wrong like a thousand times  
> I swear  
> mirrror, mirorr, mirrorr, it's like the word just couldn't stick.
> 
> ANYWAYS.  
> Let me know what you thought!! <3 I'd love to hear feedback, or just random feelings :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely people!
> 
> What a looong day today has been. Luckily, it's the weekend now, so I can continue my Harry Potter rewatch!  
> Anyways, here's the second chapter! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Standing on an Exy court  
like per fucking usual  
Andrew yawned.

In the locker room,  
in the pocket of his jeans,  
was the mirror  
and Andrew couldn’t wait to figure out what its purpose was.  
  
It was like a puzzle,  
only without any clues.  
And it was interesting  
unlike this fucking Exy scrimmage.

‘Stay focused, Andrew,’ Kevin called back to him.

‘Make it interesting then,’ Andrew replied, bored.  
  
◑  
  
After two hours,  
Andrew hadn’t gotten any closer to figuring it out.

Interesting  
bordering on annoying.

A little like its seller.  
Very interesting, but  
his static blue eyes,  
his soft, auburn hair  
and worried lips _—_  
  
Yeah, annoying.

Andrew abruptly decided he was going to take a shower  
and in the bathroom chucked off his clothes like they were hands,  
with an aggression he didn’t seem to lose.

Probably wouldn’t ever.

The water was burning,  
and Andrew felt especially  
pathetic.  
  
The water was burning  
his skin  
and Andrew felt.

◐  
  
Well,  
there Neil was again,  
where he’d told himself he wouldn’t be.

‘Present Andrew Minyard.’

The mirror cracked,  
just like it did last time,  
just like Neil felt on the inside, he thought dramatically,  
but the image that appeared wasn’t immediately clear.  
  
_What?_ This was supposed to be a good quality seeing mirror.

The surface seemed fogged up,  
like _—_

Oh.  
Yeah, like a shower, Neil thought, his cheeks warming up as the image slowly cleared,  
bathroom tiles getting into focus,  
then the shower,  
then Andrew.

Neil looked away,  
and was met with his own reflection,  
which was almost always the case in the shop.

Only this time, his face looked different.  
His cheeks were red,  
his eyes wide,  
and there was something younger about the expression.

Less like his father anyway.

Neil blinked,  
and glanced back towards the seeing mirror.  
  
Keeping his eyes focused on Andrew’s head,  
which was leaning against the tiles,  
Neil observed the way Andrew’s fists clenched   
and his shoulders shook  
and wondered if it was only water running down his cheeks.

Too intimate,  
Neil thought,  
and looked down at the object in his hands.

He’d kept it with him almost the entire time,  
hoping Andrew would figure it out.

Hoping there would be an end to the silence.

It was like watching a car crash,  
Neil thought,  
as he looked at Andrew again.

He couldn’t look away.

He also couldn’t stop his heart from pounding in his chest.

◑

Andrew held the mirror above his head.

‘Future,’ he said.

Nothing.

‘I’m fucking happy.’

Nothing.

The urge to throw the mirror against the wall was strong.

‘What the fuck are you supposed to do?’ Andrew asked the mirror.  
  
It didn’t reply.  
‘Course it didn’t.

The bedroom door opened, and Nicky’s head peered around the corner. ‘Hey,’ he said softly. ‘You want to watch a movie with us?’

Andrew didn’t take his eyes off the mirror as he said,  
‘No.’

‘But it’s _Sharknado_ ,’ Nicky smiled. ‘Come on, we’ve been wanting to watch that one for ages.’

What the fuck was Nicky’s deal?

Andrew didn’t like repeating himself.

‘What do you need all the mirrors for anyway?’ Nicky asked. ‘Or is it more about the cute girl who’s selling them?’

 _Congratulations, Nicky._  
_You’re right about one thing._

When Andrew didn’t reply, Nicky laughed a little. ‘Got you there, didn’t I? So? Do you know her name?’

The strange sensation to tell Nicky  
was enough motivation for Andrew to say his name out loud.

‘Neil.’  
  
Nicky was silent for a while,  
before going all, ‘ _Ooooohh_.’  
and Andrew was going to ignore him anyway,  
but when the mirror in his hand started warming up,  
started rippling,  
his attention was focused entirely on the changing surface,  
wondering what was going to happen but having a pretty clear idea.  
  
Neil.

Neil was sitting in front of a large mirror,  
which seemed to be one of the three mirrors in the small space.  
An attic?  
  
His knees were drawn up,  
his arms hugging them to his chest,  
and he was staring at his reflection with a sort of detachedness that Andrew himself saw  
when he looked in a mirror.

Interesting  
his mind immediately thought.  
  
No.  
Stop it.

‘Andrew?’ Nicky asked tentatively. ‘What do you say?’

‘Yeah, I’ll watch a movie with you,’ Andrew said resolutely, dragging his eyes away from Neil’s face.

He slid the mirror underneath his pillow.  
  
◑  
  
And slid it out from underneath his pillow approximately four hours later.

The rest was in bed,  
not sleeping probably.  
But now they couldn’t see.

‘Neil,’ he whispered,  
feeling fucking stupid  
for whispering  
for wanting to see Neil again.

The mirror showed Neil sitting on top of his counter,  
scribbling in his ledger,  
but after a second, his eyes turned wide and he turned his head quickly and looked directly  
at Andrew.

_What the fuck?_

‘Andrew?’ Neil said, his voice sounding awkwardly loud in the room.  
  
With a speed he normally didn’t use,  
Andrew got out of bed, grabbed his shoes and a jacket  
and left the apartment.

‘Hello?’ Neil said, so Andrew held the mirror up to his face.

‘What the fuck?’

Neil frowned. ‘Yeah, nice to see you too.’

‘There is something called a phone for this shit,’ Andrew said, walking up the stairs to the roof.

‘Yeah, uh, I don’t own one.’

Pushing open the door with one hand,  
Andrew frowned down at the mirror in his other.

‘I’ll get you one.’

‘What?’ Neil looked surprised. ‘I don’t need a cellphone.’

Even though he was walking towards the edge of the roof,  
Andrew gave Neil a look.

Besides,  
if he fell off _—_  
Well,  
at least he’d be  
surprised.

‘You don’t need to buy something for me,’ Neil said instead.

‘Then buy it from me.’

Neil tilted his head as he watched Andrew warily. ‘I don’t have a lot of money. As you might know, I don’t earn a lot selling the mirrors.’

Andrew was nearing the edge,  
he knew,  
the ground changing beneath his feet.

‘Buy it for two truths.’

‘Truths?’  
  
‘You already have enough lies.’

Neil was silent,  
and Andrew stopped just in time,  
before he reached the edge  
and walked off the building.  
  
But he also knew  
he’d been dangerously close to falling  
for a while now.

‘Okay,’ Neil said.

◑

Neil looked like he hadn’t believed Andrew to actually show up with a phone.

Andrew opened the flip phone,  
showing the screen and buttons to Neil.

‘Aren’t there newer, um, editions? Variations?’ Neil asked, looking at the phone like it was going to start doing magic tricks.

‘Don’t run before you can walk.’

Neil’s eyes met his. ‘I get the feeling you don’t follow your own advice.’

‘Bullshit,’ Andrew said, taking a  
careful  
step towards Neil,  
lowering his voice.  
  
‘I always go slow.’

He saw Neil swallow,  
saw the slight dilation of his pupils.

Mm.  
Someone was lying to themselves.

Neil blinked a few times,  
which made Andrew’s mouth twitch,  
oh that was dangerous  
and then quickly made a grab for the phone.

Andrew held it back. 'Pay up, Neil.’

Neil’s hand balled into a fist for a minute.

‘Fine. I don’t like the silence.’

Already noticed  
and noted.

Andrew looked expectantly at Neil,  
silently taunting him to tell something  
real.

Neil swallowed again,  
and his eyes flickered nervously from the left to the right.

‘You can whisper it if you want,’ Andrew said in a low voice.

Irritation crossed Neil’s face.  
Cute.

‘I’m not going to fucking whisper,’ Neil said. ‘I just admitted I don't like silence, didn’t I?’

‘You can talk with silence too.’

‘I thought you didn’t like poetic bullshit?’  
  
‘No. But I like silences.’

‘Yet you keep talking,’ Neil muttered, clearly irritated at his own nerves.

But he was right,  
and it irritated Andrew too.

Something abou _—_

‘I watched you. Twice,’ Neil said quickly.

Andrew blinked in  
surprise.

‘Oh. What?’

◐

Fear  
at Andrew’s reaction.  
  
Neil anticipated anger, because it would be totally validated.  
  
He’d spied on Andrew in the shower for god’s sake.

But there was something   
light  
about Andrew’s surprise.

Neil fidgeted on the spot.

And there it was.

Something  
dark  
in Andrew’s eyes.

He took a few steps closer to Neil,  
who felt his own heart starting to beat faster,  
then pressed the phone in Neil’s hand.

The touch was startling,  
and warm and human  
and Neil wondered how long it had been since someone had touched him without hurting him.

Where Andrew’s fingers were touching him  
his skin tingled.

‘And?’ Andrew asked in that low voice that made Neil fidget.

Neil dared to look up,  
and startled again by how  
close  
Andrew was standing.

‘And?’ Neil breathed.

Andrew’s eyes were staring into his. ‘Did you like what you saw?’

Shaking shoulders,  
clenched fists,  
painfilled eyes.

Neil shook his head.

‘No,’ he whispered.

Immediately,  
Andrew took two big steps back  
and let go of Neil.

The loss of warmth  
of touch  
was awful.

The hard look in Andrew’s eyes was worse though.

‘I put in my number,’ Andrew said flatly. ‘But you can delete it if you want.’

‘Why would I do that?’ Neil asked in surprise.

Andrew raised an eyebrow,  
but didn’t explain.

Neil got the feeling he’d done something wrong  
so he said,  
‘I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have watched. And I definitely didn’t like it.’

Now Andrew’s eyes narrowed. ‘What did you see?’

Neil’s gut twisted uncomfortably as he admitted, ‘You were in the shower. And I think you were cry _—'_

‘Oh,’ Andrew interrupted him. ‘You don’t get off on watching people in showers?’

‘What?’ Neil recoiled. ‘Of course not. I don’t get off on sadness.’

‘Is that a truth or a lie?’ Andrew mused, walking closer to Neil again.

And Neil was lost  
in Andrew’s intense stare.

‘For some reason, I keep telling the truth around you,’ he confessed quietly.

‘Another truth.’

Neil jumped when Andrew’s fingers curled around his wrist,  
or no,  
wait,  
when they pressed against his rapidly beating pulse.

‘Now I owe you another lie,’ Andrew said.

Neil wanted to say that  
really  
he didn’t  
but for some reason he couldn’t get the words out,  
couldn’t stop staring at Andrew.

He felt the bizarre urge  
to hold his breath.  
Just like he’d do before taking a plunge,  
before doing something reckless,  
something stupid.

Andrew moved impossibly closer,  
and Neil’s pulse shot up,

Andrew must’ve felt that,  
as he said in a low voice,  
‘I don’t want to kiss you.’

It felt like  
static  
between them,  
and part of Neil was leaning forward  
until _—_

‘You want to kiss me?’ he asked in shock, the words sinking in.

Andrew leaned back,  
and to Neil’s disappointment, released his wrist again.

‘Are you deaf?’ Andrew said. ‘I just said I didn’t.’

◑

Andrew didn’t like repeating himself,  
but here he was, telling himself for the hundredth time that Neil  
was dangerous.

But there was something that made Andrew come back,  
look through the mirror,  
something that kept Andrew  
interested.

Just a break from the monotony,  
from the routine,  
he’d thought at first, and wondered what would happen if he visited Neil regularly,  
wondered if he would become part of the routine too.

He did.  
  
But he was still interesting.

‘Fuck,’ Andrew cursed out loud,  
which he rarely did when he was alone.

Like now.  
No one was with him on the roof.

And it was something he was acutely aware of,  
seeing how he was toying with the idea of bringing Neil here.

Dangerous.

It was too dangerous.

It was supposed to be like a good movie,  
interesting while it lasts  
but it shouldn’t drag  
shouldn’t continue  
because then it would stop being interesting  
because then you would start looking away  
or even worse, you wouldn’t.

Andrew chucked his cigarette off the roof  
and grabbed the small mirror lying next to him.

‘Neil,’ he said.

Like he hadn’t just concluded it was dangerous.

It was supposed to be like a good movie,  
Andrew thought  
as Neil slowly came into view,  
sitting against the huge window in the attic where Andrew had never been before.  
He was sleeping.  
Fucking cute.

It was supposed to be like a good movie,  
but it felt more like  
drugs  
coming back for more  
because you wanted to keep feeling like this.

Fuck.

◐  
  
It was another one of those nights.

When the silence of the shop become too oppressing  
and every mirror reflected  
his father  
back at him.  
  
Neil tried to calmly walk towards the attic, the room with the least amount of mirrors,  
but his heart was pounding like crazy,  
and thoughts were like shouts.

When he thought he saw the stairs  
Neil bolted for them,  
leaving all reason behind aside from the fact that he needed to get to a safe space.

But it was the frame of another full length mirror.  
  
There it was again  
his father  
looking at him  
standing in front of him  
next to him  
behind him _—_

In blind panic,  
Neil punched the mirror frantically  
wanting  
no  
_needing  
_ the image to disappear.

Pain spread through his fist,  
his fingers,  
even his arm,  
but Neil kept on punching,   
watching the mirror crack  
just like it did when he asked it to show Andrew _—_

Though his hand was slippery from the blood,  
Neil managed to blindly reach for the mirror in his back pocket  
and held it in front of him.

‘Andrew,’ he said shakily,  
sinking down on the floor while he waited for the mirror’s reflection to change.

Andrew was in his Exy gear,  
Neil saw,  
and his heart ached with a need  
for both.

‘Andrew.’

Andrew’s head snapped to the mirror,  
and immediately reached for it.  
  
‘What’s wrong?’

How had Andrew noticed?

‘I _—_ I need,’ Neil stammered, not really knowing what he needed  
and refusing to say  
you.

‘I’ll be there,’ Andrew said, and went to turn the mirror around, but Neil cried out, ‘No!’

Andrew paused.

‘I don’t want to look at my own reflection,’ Neil admitted quietly.

Andrew nodded,  
and put the mirror so that Neil could see his head while he was changing,  
while he was driving  
while he was walking  
until he stepped through the front door,  
the little bell alerting Neil to a customer.

And then Neil didn’t need the mirror anymore,  
because there Andrew was,  
walking towards him,  
crouching in front of him.

Andrew held out his hand.

Neil quietly put his wounded hand in his.

‘Do you have a first aid kit?’  
  
‘Behind the counter,’ Neil replied.

His breath caught when Andrew disappeared behind a mirror,  
but then Andrew paused and turned back.

‘Come on.’

Neil immediately scrambled to his feet  
and followed Andrew.  
  
◑

After Neil’s hands were mirror-free,  
Andrew needed to make sure Neil’s mind was too.

‘You got some place without mirrors?’

Neil nodded. ‘The attic.’

Andrew wondered if the attic wasn’t that special  
or if Neil hadn’t realized he’d just told another truth.

Dropping Neil’s bandaged hand,  
Andrew waited patiently for Neil to decide their next step.

Neil silently led them towards a tiny, narrow staircase  
that led to the attic.  
  
Looking around, Andrew noticed the three mirrors spread around the room.  
The one near the window was the one he’d seen Neil sitting in front of.

He walked towards it,  
reaching out to touch the smooth glass.

‘Wait!’ Neil said.  
  
Andrew met Neil’s eyes in the reflection,  
silently asking him why he was waiting.

‘It’s, um,’ Neil began uncertainly, ‘A strong seeing mirror. The real deal.’

Andrew looked at his own reflection for a second before shifting his gaze to Neil again, who was fidgeting on the spot,  
holding his bandaged hand close to his body.

‘Why do you sit in front of it so much?’

‘I used it to watch you,’ Neil said. ‘And _—_ ’

Andrew waited patiently for Neil to gather enough courage to tell yet another truth.

He owed Neil a lot now.  
  
‘To look at my future,’ Neil confessed.

‘Why?’  
  
Neil’s voice sounded bitter. ‘To check if I even have one.’

Again,  
he could fucking relate.

And Andrew felt himself getting angry.

 _Why?_ What made Neil so fucking special?  
So irritatingly  
interesting.

‘And?’ Andrew asked.

‘I haven’t checked lately,’ Neil said in surprise, like he just realized.

‘It’s not healthy,’ Andrew said, staring into Neil’s eyes. ‘Always looking at what could be. Never actually living it.’

Neil’s jaw clenched  
and his eyes hardened.

‘You’re a real comfort,’ he spit out.

And even with an angry expression  
Andrew was so attracted  
so interested  
that he felt his hands itch with the need to reach for his knife  
to stab at this thing  
to kill it before it could grow.

‘You’re not fine either,’ Neil said. ‘You lie to yourself just as much as I do.’

‘What a nice match,’ Andrew smiled, the muscles in his face protesting against the abuse.

Neil crossed his arms in irritation. ‘At least I’m not afraid to _look_.’

‘I’m not afraid.’

‘Yeah?’ Neil jerked his head towards the mirror. ‘Then why haven’t you asked for your future yet?’

‘Maybe I like to go into it blindly.’

Neil laughed hollowly. ‘Wait a sec, I’ll grab a mirror for you.’

Fine.  
If that was what Neil wanted.  
  
But.

But  
asking  
for his future?

Andrew tried to force his mouth to work  
but everything inside him was protesting against the idea of  
asking  
for a future.

It didn’t feel like it would be anything more than _—_

‘Future,’ Andrew said through gritted teeth.

There was a ripple in the left corner of the mirror.

It started out small, but eventually the whole surface of the mirror was rippling,  
before it smoothed out again.

Andrew blinked.

His reflection did the same.

Everything  
was the same.

What?

Andrew tilted his head to the side  
and again, his reflection mirrored him perfectly.

‘You said it worked.’

Behind him, Neil sounded confused as he replied, ‘It should.’

And it did.

Because suddenly, Andrew’s reflection let go of the mirror  
and turned towards Neil,  
who took a few steps forward.

There was a pause,  
and then Neil nodded.

Andrew’s reflection gripped Neil’s shirt and dragged him closer,  
saying something,  
Andrew could fucking guess what,  
and when Neil’s reflection mouthed  
‘ _Yes_ ’  
Andrew could only stand still and watch as his reflection bent forward and kis _—_

The real Neil made a surprised noise in the back of his throat,  
startling Andrew out of his future, causing him to jerk his hand back from the mirror.  
  
It was only a second, but the mirror turned back to normal again,  
the sight of them kissing disappearing.

Andrew took a deep breath.

Well.  
There it was, wasn’t it?  
There it fucking was.

He could now guess who he’d been with on the roof.

 _Fuck._  
  
‘That wasn’t really a future,’ Neil said, sounding unsure  
and nervous.

But Andrew knew what this was.

He knew what the mirror had showed him.

Because he already knew there was a future for him where he  
trusted  
someone enough to take them to the roof,  
a place he kept for himself.

The other mirror had shown it.  
Had made it clear,  
even through the blur.

He could have it.

If he made the future come true,  
the one the mirror had shown him.  
Had taunted him with.

_You can have it._

Could he?

Did he want it?

Fuck.  
  
‘It’s going to be this way for a long time, isn’t it?’ Andrew said,  
admitting his defeat  
as he took a step  
away  
from the mirror  
and towards his future,  
and fuck that sounded horrible.

Didn’t feel so horrible however,  
when Neil also took a step towards him,  
all the while keeping eye contact,  
his eyes so blue they'd even shocked Andrew.

‘Yes or no?’ Andrew asked, feeling like he was standing on the edge of the roof.

Neil nodded,  
of course he did.

Not consent.

Andrew grabbed Neil’s shirt and pulled him close.

‘Yes or no?’ he asked again,  
looking down and not seeing the bottom, or the ground,  
which meant it was going to be a pretty intense fall.

‘Yes,’ Neil whispered.

His eyes were staring into Andrew’s,  
telling him it was okay.

It probably wasn’t.

But what the hell.  
At least it would be interesting.

Andrew closed the distance between their lips  
and kissed Neil,  
falling  
falling  
falling.

The way Neil’s hands tentatively reached up and held onto his shoulders,  
allowed,  
the way he leaned into the kiss,  
the way he made a small noise in the back of his throat when Andrew cupped the back of his neck and deepened their kiss,  
it all made the long way down less horrible.

After minutes,  
Neil leaned back to catch his breath.  
  
Andrew opened his eyes.

Still alive.

His heart was beating wildly in his chest.

More than alive.

Feeling.

Neil smiled at him.

No,  
Andrew’s heart didn’t skip a fucking beat.

This was nothing.

But he knew that the mirror would’ve said  
something else entirely.

●

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! :)
> 
> Gosh I suddenly got SO anxious about posting part 2 because I was afraid I didn't conclude this short story nicely enough... Because that's the 'problem'. I kind of like to leave some things open or up for the imagination. With short stories at least, because they usually focus on one or two main things.  
> So I'm sorry if the ending was a little disappointing! Though I sure hope it wasn't! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! <3


End file.
